Let’s face it, a mere six months after the Seattle Seahawks‘ dominant 43-8 victory over the Denver Broncosin Super Bowl XLVIII, people didn’t think of these two organizations as evenly matched. Sure, maybe Denver could compete on paper, but the last time NFL fans saw Peyton Manning test Seattle’s notorious Legion of Boom, it wasn’t a pretty sight.

Statistically, Seattle dominated every facet of that particular game. They outgained the Broncos offensively, they absolutely destroyed them defensively, and perhaps most importantly, they won the ever-important turnover battle. It was a sad sight and probably ranked among the worst games of the year.

Yet despite the public’s recently established opinion of these two organizations, the fact is they were much closer than most people thought headed into their Week 1 preseason rematch. After the game, people had a healthier respect for just how good of a team Denver has.

For Seahawk fans, little stock should be taken in losing the first preseason game of the year, particularly following the most successful season in franchise history. What could be seen as somewhat puzzling, however, was the lack of their typical rushing attack.

Throughout the past two years, Seattle has based their success on playing phenomenal defense and running the ball effectively. Therefore, it’s easy to look at their poor rushing statistics as the reason for their loss. In the Super Bowl, Seattle rushed for 135 yards on 29 attempts, despite the Broncos owning the seventh-ranked rushing defense in the NFL at the time.

On Thursday, however, Seattle rushed for a meager 94 yards on 29 attempts, averaging only 3.2 yards per carry. Additionally, the offensive line allowed three sacks for a loss of 17 yards. These are mistakes that must be rectified.

It’s easy to blame the inadequate line play on the fact that starters Russell Okung, James Carpenter and Max Unger all sat out the game for various reasons, but I’m sure that’s an excuse that won’t fly with assistant head coach Tom Cable. Nonetheless, Seattle’s backups and young players should be talented enough to hold down the fort in any starter’s absence.

That clearly wasn’t the case this week, but things can always change. The Broncos recent victory may have snapped Seattle’s eight-game preseason win-streak, but it won’t do much in the way of giving themselves confidence when it comes time to march into The Clink in Week 3 of the regular season to stare down the same Legion of Boom.